The River Made Of Tears

I walk along the river bank to where my family home once stood There's nothing here but mud and rock and memories from childhood It wasn't time that wore it down but water on one fateful day Helene came through and by her wrath my little home was washed away And with it went my wife and child as sudden rising waters struck So unprepared we were for this when massive flooding ran amok The bridge that goes to town is gone There's no way in or out of here So many friends and neighbors lost beneath this river made of tears Oh Father, God, with broken heart and spirit crushed, I call to Thee I wish I had been swept away instead of here on bended knee Oh why have I survived this thing? And how can I go on from here? I'm stuck upon this broken bank above this river made of tears © Mike Wise 10-2-24 *This is based on the disaster that ravaged vast areas of Appalachia last week from hurricane Helene. I live in this general area where much devastation took place, but for the record, by God's grace where I live was relatively untouched. But my heart is broken for friends and neighbors, known and largely unknown, whose personal suffering and losses this poem cannot adequately describe. This was written on their behalf, based on many stories I heard in the news and the destruction I saw with my own eyes.